Page 9 of From Scotland with Love

“I just wish you had let me know, I could’ve stayed there this evening, or arranged my flight to arrive there tomorrow, or -”

“Well it’s done now.” Gran interrupted “OK girls, you’ve just seen each other for the first time in I-don’t-know-how-long, so no squabbling like teenagers! Let’s enjoy this evening!” Gran handed them both plates of food. “Now - start the BBQ please, at this rate it’ll be dark by the time we're eating!”

By the time the food was finally cooked, and the large table outside was set, Lori was almost dizzy with hunger and a little tipsy after two glasses of wine. Once everything was laid out on the table, she was able to devour whatever she could find and lay back into her chair deliciously full and sleepy. In the garden, fairy-lights and Chinese lanterns glowed over the veranda on a thin wire in the gentle breeze. Lori smiled to herself and watched Jean’s two girls dance to music from Tammy’s phone.

“You put on quite the party, Gran.” Lori declared, watching the scene.

“It’s to welcome you home, my Lolo.” Gran patted her grand-daughter’s hand affectionately.

Lori put her head on Gran’s shoulder with a sigh just as Jean sat down next to them both with glass of wine in one hand, and the other balancing a plateful of food. The two children ran over trying to nuzzle into their mother as she was just about to eat.

“Mummy come play!” Maggie the youngest, pulled at Jean’s hand with a pout.

“No girls – not now sweetheart, careful! I haven’t eaten all day. Go play by yourselves for a wee while!” She shooed them both off her.

Lori took the opportunity to distract her nieces and began tickling the youngest. “You give your mummy a break!” Lori chased Maggie around the garden, her squeals of delight echoing in the night air, then she moved to her quieter niece Anne, who stood by the table, pretending to pick at her food.

“The tickle monster is coming to get you girls!” Lori chased the pair, and both children screeched, their laughter growing all the louder the faster they ran.

“Auntie Lori!” Maggie taunted from the edge of one side of the garden.

“No, no - over here Auntie Lori!” Anne shouted from the opposite end of the lawn, leaving Lori in the middle, with the chance to take a breather. She slumped down with a giggle onto the grass, exhausted. Her nieces ran over and piled on top of her.

“Oh you girls are so heavy! What’s that mother of yours feeding you?” She wriggled underneath them but gave up with little fight. The jet-lag had started to press down upon her like a heavy stone. The two girls ignored their aunts pleas and buried themselves under her arms.

“Come on Auntie Lori, get up!” Anne put her face next to Lori’s trying to revive her. Lori smiled to herself, she had missed this. Nothing had prepared her for the swelling in her heart, filling up the spaces she didn't realise she had. Eventually Maggie and Anne gave up on their aunt, but continued to lay there with limbs wrapped around one another. Very soon Lori’s eyes closed, and sleep caught up with her, her mind lulled by the gentle soothing sounds of their breathing under the glow of swaying lanterns above.

6

“OK, time to get up!” Tammy yelled at Lori’s door, entered without invitation, and promptly threw open the curtains.

Lori squinted “Do I have to go? I need to catch up on sleep... You just pick a dress for me, I’ll fit into it...” Lori turned over on her side away from the glare, and snuggled into her soft pillow.

Tammy draped herself on the bed, her face right next to Lori’s own. “I need you there, please Lori. You can sleep in the car, Alan’s driving.”

Lori lay still on the comfortable bed, feeling groggy from the previous night. Why had she thought it would be a good idea to drink wine? She groaned her agreement, knowing that resisting her sister wouldn’t be an option and flung herself in the shower before she could think anymore on the subject.

After much grunting and moaning, she emerged from the bathroom and put on a black linen shirt dress. She tied a deep blue silk scarf around her neck and with her sunglasses and sandals picked out, she ventured out to the kitchen where her grandmother was rustling up a hearty breakfast. The smells were intoxicating, making Lori’s stomach gurgle loudly in response.

“Morning, sleepy head!” Her gran picked up a sizzling skillet, and emptied out eggs, bacon, tomatoes and a large potato scone onto the plate on the counter. “Sleep well?” she smiled.

“Oh Gran, I could keep sleeping forever right now... That bed is amazing!” Lori walked up to the counter and sat down. “Is this for me?” Her stomach gurgled once again and her gran laughed.

“Of course, everyone’s already eaten. Just you now!” She poured Lori a coffee from an orange percolator on the cooker and Lori lost herself in her gran’s cooking.

“I need you in New York. Would you cook for me? I’ll give you anything you want!” Lori promised faithfully, biting into the soft, floury potato scone.

Her gran shook her head chuckling. “Your place is tiny, remember last time you had to sleep in the same bed with me?”

Lori did admit her apartment was on the small side to accommodate guests comfortably, particularly when Kim had her boyfriend over. It had just so happened that the last time her Gran had visited, one of Darren’s mates had also needed a place to crash.

“Yeah, I may need to find somewhere else soon.” Lori drank the coffee deeply, and felt the caffeine hit her almost immediately.

“Things still going well with Michael? I’ll need to meet him; he didn’t want to come to the wedding?”

It only occurred to Lori that she hadn’t actually asked Michael to come. Maybe it was because he had acted so strangely after discovering where she was from; that in itself had taken a while to explain tactfully. She had also wanted to focus solely on her sister, whom Michael had not actually met, after all. If he had accompanied her, well, she’d have had to show him around, and introduce him adequately to everyone, which she had no time for. The whole situation wouldn't really have been very fair on Tammy; no, it was better this way. “Things are good, yeah - he’s doing really well in the company. He couldn’t get away though, it was too last minute you see,” Lori lied, feeling her gran’s suspicious eyes on her.

“Oh, that’s a shame!” Gran sipped her coffee, looking at her closely all the while. “Well maybe it’s best, we can meet him when it’s not so hectic up here!”